Former Bush adviser helps open investment firm

A former member of the National Economic Council under President Bush has launched a boutique investment advisory firm, according to published reports. Philippa Malmgren, who was a member of the President’s working groups on financial markets and corporate governance, has joined with Nadja Pinnavaia, a former managing director of hedge fund strategies at Goldman Sachs Asset Management of New York, to launch Principals Asset Management LLC of London and New York.The new firm’s website lists Ms. Malmgren as co-founder and president. She could not be reached for comment, but she is also currently listed as a principal of the London-based advisory firm Canonbury Advisors LLC. Ms. Pinnavaia is listed as co-founder and chief executive officer of Principals. Paul O’Donnell is listed on the Principals site as co-founder and chief operating officer. According to the website, Mr. O’Donnell remains chief executive officer of Canonbury Advisors. According to published reports, Principals is one of 20 asset management firms approved for operation over the past few months by the United Kingdom’s Financial Services Authority. The Principals website says the firm will have a thematic investing approach that is designed to identify themes “whose impact had not yet been fully understood nor priced by the broader market.” The firm’s investments will typically be concentrated in one or more of the following themes: policy and credit driven, growing middle class and resource scarcity, environment, intellectual innovation, and education, according to the website.